


Worth It

by bayoublackjack



Series: Stars & Stripes Forever [28]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers Tower, Birthday Party, Dancing, Disco, Domestic Avengers, F/M, Minor Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, Minor Jane Foster/Thor, Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, POV Martha Jones, Pre-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Surprise Party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 21:10:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6300577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bayoublackjack/pseuds/bayoublackjack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Martha adjusts to life in Avengers Tower, everyone gathers together to celebrate a worthy cause.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Worth It

Prior to making the decision to move into the Tower, Martha had thought long and hard about the ramifications of such a change.  This would be the first time in years that she had lived with a significant other.  So naturally adjustments had to be made.  She and Steve had sleepovers in the past and therefore were given sneak previews of each other’s bad habits.  But what Martha hadn’t accounted for, however, was what life would be like living under a roof that played host six superheroes and their various associates.

Obviously, she expected to see Tony a lot.  It was his property after all, despite the name change from Stark Tower to Avengers Tower.  The first few floors still housed Stark Industries and the man himself resided in the penthouse.  He and Pepper had invited Steve and Martha up for dinner parties on more than one occasion.

Bruce was another mainstay.  From what Martha could tell, he spent the majority of his time on the R&D levels or in the laboratories.  Every now and then she did catch him in the hallway on the residential level and invited him over for tea and a chat.  She couldn’t help noticing that she saw him more frequently whenever Tish was visiting.

The other three Avengers made sporadic appearances.  Clint and Natasha both had flats of their own in the city so they usually only spent the night in the tower after missions, especially if someone was hurt.  More often than not, Clint was usually the one with injuries.  Once or twice he and Natasha did hang around for a movie night double date with Martha and Steve though.

As for the thunderer, whenever Thor wasn’t at work or play with his fellow teammates, it was assumed that he was wherever Jane was at the time.  He was right about Martha and Jane getting along.  Once the astrophysicist learned about Martha’s time with the Doctor, she was full of questions about the TARDIS and time travel.  Martha answered them to the best of her ability and made a promise to try to arrange a meeting between the Doctor and Jane.

Over time, Martha felt as though she was slowly becoming a genuine member of the Avengers’ inner circle.  As a result, she found herself in regular contact with people close to them such as Colonel Rhodes, Happy Hogan, Maria Hill, and even famous scientists like Dr. Helen Cho and Erik Selvig.  Still, Martha thought of the majority of them as Steve’s friends rather than her own.  She did have people she could turn to now though.

Tish’s presence in New York made the Big Apple feel a bit more like home and Sam had become a surrogate brother of sorts since their initial meeting in Washington D.C.  And then there was Sharon with whom Martha had formed a fast friendship following the mission in Austria.  Martha, Sharon and Tish were guaranteed to have a good time whenever they got together.  Sometimes Natasha or Pepper would join in on the fun or even Maria, Jane and Helen whenever they were in town.

So while the Tower felt more like a depot than a home some days, Martha began to enjoy the hustle and bustle.  The activity kept things interesting and there was always something to do or see.  And often times, a party to attend.

“I know people joke about Tony’s frivolous nature but a fancy dress party in March?” Martha questioned as she and Steve dressed for the event in question.  The theme of the party was a ‘timeless affair’ and the attendees were instructed to dress in their most glamour Studio 54 inspired fashion.  Martha wasn’t quite sure if the dress code matched the theme, but she did have a not so secret obsession with disco music and she certainly didn’t hate the way Steve’s bum looked in polyester trousers.  “What’s this for again?” she continued as she checked her hair in the mirror.  “A charity?”

Steve shrugged awkwardly as he moved over to where she was standing.  “The invitation just said it’s for a worthy cause.”

“I imagine any cause could be deemed worthy if Tony was in a celebratory mood,” she quipped with a tiny frown.  Something about Steve’s body language was off, but she chose not to press the issue for the moment.  “Speaking of which, we still need to talk about next weekend.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” Steve assured her.  “The others have been put on notice that unless the world is literally ending, the weekend of the 20th is my time off the grid.”

Martha met his eyes in the mirror’s reflection.  “And they’re fine with that?”

“They didn’t get a say in the matter,” he answered while hugging her from behind.  “You made my last birthday special so I want to return the favor.”

“And for that I’m eternally grateful, but my birthday is only on Friday.  Three days to celebrate seems a bit excessive, don’t you think?”

Steve smiled as though he was in on a secret that she wasn’t.  “It’s a worthy cause,” he told her just before craning his head over her shoulder so he could kiss her passionately.

Martha allowed herself to melt into his embrace for a fleeting moment before she pried herself away.  “Keep this up and we won’t make it to Tony’s party.  Not that I’m wholly opposed to that idea.”  She turned to face him and hooked her fingers through his belt loops.  “What do you say?  You want to donate some of your time to my cause?”

Steve cupped her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly.  “Always,” he replied.  “But we can’t miss the party.”

“Honestly I doubt they’d even notice our absence and even if they did they’ll just say we’re stuck in our own little love bubble like they always do.”

“That may be true, but we made a promise and this party is important to Tish too,” he said, reminding her of the fact that this was the first event Tish had a hand in planning since taking the job working for Tony.

Martha sighed softly and Steve gave her his famous half smile that she normally found adorable.  He had just won her over by playing the Tish angle and they both knew it.  “Alright, I give in.  Lead the way.”

Steve kissed her softly.  “Who knows?  You may have fun.”

“Not as much fun as I would if we stayed here,” Martha objected playfully as they gathered their things to head up to the penthouse.

Steve smiled knowingly.  “I think you may be surprised.

Surprised was an understatement.

When they arrived at the penthouse, which had been decorated to resemble a disco for the party, Martha quickly learned that everyone definitely had taken notice of their absence.  In fact, they all seemed to have been awaiting their arrival.  “What’s going on?”

“What does it look like?” Tony questioned, approaching her with outstretched hands and dressed in an outfit that was reminiscent of a seventies era Hugh Hefner.  He kissed her on both cheeks.  “It’s a birthday party for our favorite time traveler.”

“What?”  Martha gaped at him feeling gobsmacked.

“You’re pretty much part of the team,” Clint insisted.  Natasha nodded at his side.  She wore a black catsuit with a gold disk belt and Clint had on a purple and blue tunic like shirt with a deep V-neck and an unfortunate headband.  “Most of us like you better than Cap anyway,” he joked.

“Very funny,” Steve retorted with a playful eye roll.

“Not to mention the fact that I had a certain someone insist that we had to do it tonight because if we couldn’t pull it off then I might as well find myself a new PR person,” Tony told Martha with a glance in Tish’s direction.

“You know you need me,” Tish shot back with bright smile, brushing past her boss to give her little sister a fierce hug.  She was channeling Bianca Jagger with her red dress.

Tony nodded.  “I do.  Rhodey and Pep can only handle so much.”

Martha shook her head in confusion.  “But my birthday is still a week away.”

“Yea, we figured you’d be…”  Sharon looked to Sam for support.  He wore red with white accents while she had on a solid white jumpsuit.

“Preoccupied,” Sam supplied.

“Exactly,” she continued.

“And rightfully so,” Jane’s intern Darcy commented from behind Tish as she sized Steve up.

Tish turned to Darcy with a huge grin.  “You don’t even know the half of it.”  She slipped an arm through Darcy’s and the two of them headed off towards the bar to presumably gossip about Steve’s assets.

Martha turned to Steve.  “Is that what you’ve been hiding?  A party?”

“And what made you think I was hiding something?” Steve countered playfully.

“Easy.  You’re rubbish at lying.”

“That’s for sure,” Natasha agreed.  She, Clint, Sam, and Sharon gathered around Martha and Steve while everyone else had dispersed to enjoy the party atmosphere.  Martha made mental note to greet everyone individually whenever she got the chance.

“Honesty is the best policy right?” Sam said.

Sharon grinned at him.  “Not for a spy.”

Sam laughed.  “Remind me never to date a spy then.”

“I’ll do that,” she answered with a quiet chuckle of her own.  “In the meantime, how about you settle for a dance with a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent?”

Sam extended his hand to her.  “I think I can handle that.”

As they walked away, Natasha watched them with keen interest.  Clint nudged her with his elbow.  “Get it out of your head.”

Natasha looked at him with an innocent expression that would have been totally believable if Martha hadn’t known both her intentions and her demeanor.  “What?”

“Sam and 13,” Clint retorted.

“What happened to you trying to set him up with my sister?” Martha asked with a smirk.  Tish had let her correspondence with Sam slip around her once and Natasha pounced on it.

“That’s on the backburner for now,” Natasha answered, dropping the innocent act.  “I’m curious to see where this thing with Banner goes.”  Martha followed her eye line over to Bruce who was watching Tish from across the room.

“Well he better act fast,” Clint said, nodding his chin over to the bar where Rhodey had sidled up to Tish and the two of them were sharing a laugh while Darcy made herself scarce.  “Looks like a new horse entered the race.”

“Well she certainly has an abundance of options,” Martha agreed.  Tish was no stranger to playing the field.  In fact, Martha was certain that her big sister enjoyed the thrill of the chase more than anything.  She didn't usually play her game so close to home though.  Sam was Steve's best friend and Rhodey was Tony's.  And Bruce was an Avenger.  So all three of them were people that they would have to deal with presumably longer than whatever length of time Tish's interest lasted.  Martha was sure that regardless of the end result Sam and Rhodey would be alright, but Bruce was a veritable wildcard.  She only hoped that the fear of rejection didn't make him angry or that he didn't become, quite literally, green with envy.

Steve shrugged.  “Call me biased, but I still like Sam's odds.”

“Speaking of odds,” Clint began as he zeroed in on Tony dancing with Pepper.  "I wonder if Stark wants a piece of this action."

Natasha rolled her eyes.  “And he says I need to stop.”

“What can I say?  Once a carnie, always a carnie.  The con is in my blood.”  Natasha scoffed.  “You know you love it, Tasha,” Clint retorted as he held his hand out for her to take.  Natasha's reply was a severely put upon sigh and a ghost of a smile as she slipped her hand into Clint's.  He lifted her hand and pressed a quick kiss to the back of it before leading her off towards the dance floor where Tony and Pepper were.

“Maybe we should follow their lead,” Steve suggested to Martha once the two of them were alone.

“How?  By placing bets?” Martha joked.  “Because I've never been much of a gambler.”

“You took a gamble on me,” he retorted as he led her out onto the dance floor.  Andy Gibb’s _I Just Want to Be Your Everything_ was playing.

Martha laughed softly.  “And it's paid out well so far.”

Steve laced the fingers of his right hand through her left one and placed his other hand at the small of her back, bringing her body flush against his.  “Trust me.  I'm the one with the winning hand.”

Martha beamed up at him.  “I love you, Steve Rogers.”  She moved the hand she had on his shoulder and slipped it behind his neck to pull him down to her height for a barely restrained kiss.

Steve pressed his forehead against hers and sighed contently.  “How much do you think Clint got off of Tony for that one?”

Martha brushed her nose against his.  “Nothing if Tony ever learns not to bet against the house,” she quipped.  “But maybe you should kiss me again and give Clint a chance to double down.”

“In front of everyone?”

“It's my party.  I can snog if I want to,” she told him with a shrug.

Steve chuckled softly.  “Sometimes I think you like the attention,” he teased.  “Remember our first date at the coffeehouse?”

“How could I forget?  You pretended to not want to kiss me in front of the other patrons only to turn around and kiss me right outside on the street for everyone to see,” she shot back playfully.

“Maybe it's because nothing else in the world matters when you're in my arms,” he suggested with his lips almost touching hers.

Martha gave him another passionate kiss before putting some distance between them.  “I should say hello to everyone,” she reminded herself.  “That way no one will think me rude when we nip off back to our own place for a party of our own.”

She left Steve on the dance floor to greet the others.  Pepper and Jane greeted her warmly and Thor gave her a fiercely tight hug.  Helen promised to take Martha out for seaweed soup before her actual birthday and Maria insisted they should have another girl’s day soon.  Bruce perked up long enough for Martha to convince him to join her in a dance.  Halfway through, she insisted upon switching partners so that Bruce could dance with Tish while she took a spin around the dance floor with Rhodey.  Natasha nodded in approval when the two of them danced past her and Tony.

Steve shared one quick dance with Sharon before settling into a seat at the bar with Clint and Sam.  “Do you mind if I steal him away?” Martha asked the two men.

Sam stood up.  “He’s all yours.”

Clint nodded as he and Sam moved to give them some privacy.  “We’ll save you some cake.”

Martha smiled brightly.  “My heroes.”  She took Steve by the hand and pulled him to his feet.  “Any more surprises in store?”

“Maybe a few,” Steve admitted with a half-smile.

Martha wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.  “If you spoil me so much now, what’s going to happen once we’re married?”

“More of the same,” he answered before burying his face in her hair.

She chuckled softly into his shirt then let out a content sigh.  “I can hardly wait.”

“Are you sure you still want to wait?”

“I’m sure.”  She pulled back to look him in the eyes.  “Our future together is worth the wait.”

Steve cupped her face between his hands.  “You know I’d marry you right this second if you wanted.”

“And that, love, is a gift in and of itself.”

“Come on.”  Steve took her by the hand and started for the lift.  “Let’s go home.  There’s a worthy cause that needs my devoted time.”


End file.
